Introduction:
Adobe Illustrator was an app that I recently explored, and in my opinion, it was the most fun yet difficult software. Using this application was quite a challenge for me as it involved spending a lot of time watching videos that would walk me through the different features of the application’s interface.
Learning and adapting to the application’s interface was quite difficult as its features were different from Adobe Photoshop. Furthermore, I think the most difficult part for me when using this application to make the activities was being creative with the shapes. Adobe Illustrator is a graphic design application where you use shapes to create an object. However, even though I had a difficult time and it was quite time-consuming, I still had a lot of time creating the activities provided to me.
Testing Details:
For this application, I will also be making the same cat theme snowglobe as part of my testing but in a cartoon style. Below are the things I would be blogging for this testing:
- Functional Testing – I will test the application’s functionality by verifying if all of the tools, features, and functions work as I expected.
- Usability Testing – I will test the application’s usability by evaluating it using Nielsen’s 10 Heuristics for Usability.
Testing Documentary (Step by Step):
1. Using the internet, I used a cartoon snowy background. To remove the Vector Stock at the bottom< I simply crop it out from the photo. I also toggle lock the layer of this background (This is a good hack if you don’t want to select the background when combining shapes later on).
2. In order to make the stand I used two circles (one small and one big) and a rectangle. Using the curvature tool (I find this tool very helpful as it helps me create curves by connecting points), I extend the two bottom anchor points of the rectangle to the end of the bottom circle. In order to make the snow globe stand stick out from the background made the color of the stand a nice royal blue color (I love blue).
3. Using the Ellipse Tool I created a circle for the glass of the snow globe. To make that glass-like feeling I adjusted the opacity down to 15% with a grey 6 pt stroke as its outline. Finally, I combined the stand that I made with the glass.
4. For this part, I will be making the snow in the globe. Using the Ellipse Tool, I created two circles; one similar to the shape of the snow globe; the other a small ellipse circle. I will be using white as my color as it is the color of the snow. In order to remove the excess part of the big circle, I used the selection tool to select both circles and finally, I used the shape builder tool to remove the top part of the circle, leaving only the bottom part. This will result for a pile of snow at the bottom of the globe, which is what I want to achieve. Lastly, I made the stroke for the small ellipse as 0.25 pt and moved this layer to the back of the glass for the globe. Doing this would make the snow look like it is in the globe.
Images Used:
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5. Using images online, I removed each image’s background. I used various Christmas theme images such as the cat with a Christmas hat, Christmas tree, and presents. In order to fit the cartoon concept of the background and the snowglobe, I made sure that the images I used were cartoon style which I find cute.
6. Looking at the image, it feels flat, so using the ellipse tool I added some shadows. I achieved this shadow look by first setting the color of the circles to black and turning down the opacity. Furthermore, for the bottom part of the snow, I made the color of the snow a darker white or light grey. Now that I added shadows to the snow globe, it looks better because the shadows added depth to the snow globe making it look 3d.
Image Used:
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7. I wanted to add snowflakes inside the globe so I used a realistic snowflake from online. First things first, I removed the background using a website called “Remove Background“. Next, I pasted the snowflake image to Illustrator, and using the ellipse tool I created a circle similar to the globe; To select the image and the circle, hold shift, click the selection tool, and select these two. Then, right-click and select “Make Clipping Mask” (this would mask the image to the shape of the circle). Finally, to blend naturally the snowflakes into the globe, I turned down the opacity.
8. For the last touch, I added a highlight which shows the light reflecting from the moon. I did this by using the pencil tool and using the curvature to curve it along the circle. In addition, I also used the width tool to change the thickness of the strokes.
Test Results:
This is the final result of the Digital Outcome Test for Adobe Illustrator.
Advantages:
- It has a wide range of tools for drawing, editing, manipulating shapes, etc. This is a great feature for me as it would allow me to create various graphic illustrations like when I made the snow globe structure.
- I love the fact that Adobe Illustrator offers the user freedom and control because when I was using this app I was able to freely control the objects and layers like merging, grouping, locking, etc.
- In terms of interface design, Adobe Illustrator has achieved one of Nielsen’s 10 Heuristics for Usability which is Aesthetic and minimalistic design. The app itself has an interface that is clean and organized. Each feature is placed within its own category which I find really helpful as it allows me to easily navigate the tools and features that I need to create the snow globe for this testing.
- An advantage that I have observed when testing this app is that it passes one of Nielson’s Heuristics for Usability which is the Flexibility and Efficiency of Use. This is because common keyboard shortcuts like “ctrl + v” or “ctrl + c” are evidently used in the application which I find really helpful as it speeds up the time that I would take without these shortcuts.
- For functionality, I think it passed my expectations. When using the application to make the snow globe, I was glad that all of the tools behaved and worked as I expected them to do. For instance, when I want to manipulate a shape, it does the job that I expected it to do.
Disadvantages:
- One thing that I find a disadvantage of this application is that using the app was quite a journey and a challenge for me. For instance, I think I spent a total of three weeks just learning and getting used to the application’s features and tools. In fact, I have watched countless tutorials online just to learn the application.
- The system requirements. During the testing, I had a total of 3 crashes because the computer that I am using cannot take the large and complex files that Adobe Illustrator is using. I find it as a disadvantage as it disrupts me when I am creating an illustration and it also has caused me to worry that my work might be saved.
Improvement and Recommendation:
- I think it is important to improve the stability of the software as it would prevent the frequent crashes that I have experienced when using this app.
- I recommend expanding on the range of the shapes; adding more curves, callouts, etc.
Conclusion:
In my opinion, I think Adobe Illustrator is an application that is the best fit for making logos. This is because it has the tools that would allow me to create any shapes or objects that I want which is necessary in logo making. In addition, creating a logo needs to have its own original design which is why this Adobe Illustrator fits the best for this purpose. Furthermore, using this application would be the best fit for making a cat cafe logo which is one of my digital outcomes for this assessment.
